ABBASID DYNASTY (750-1258 AD /133-656 AH)

SEQUENCE:
Introduction Past CSS Questions

Discourse Questions
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 The orthodox caliphate is the beginning of feudalism

The Umayyad caliphate is the development of feudalism and medical Islam The Abbaside caliphate is the fulfillment and disintegration of the medieval Islam
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New features of Abbasides

The caliphate no longer complied with Islam Arab nation loses martial vigour capital is transferred from Damascus to Baghadad Golden era of civilization and culture science and learning New posts of chamberlain, vizier, Executioner are created

Arab nation loses priority in decision making and Persian/Turkish influence surfaces
A monarchical despotism
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Abbasid Caliphs in Baghdad

Abu'l Abbas As-Saffah 750 754 Al-Mansur 754 775 Al-Mahdi 775 785 Al-Hadi 785 786 Harun al-Rashid 786 809 Al-Amin 809 813 Al-Ma'mun 813 833 Al-Mu'tasim 833 842 Al-Wathiq 842 847 Al-Mutawakkil 847 861 Al-Muntasir 861 862 Al-Musta'in 862 866 Al-Mu'tazz 866 869 Al-Muhtadi 869 870 Al-Mu'tamid 870 892 Al-Mu'tadid 892 902 Al-Muktafi 902 908 Al-Muqtadir 908 932 Al-Qahir 932 934 Ar-Radi 934 940 Al-Muttaqi 940 944
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Al-Mustakfi 944 946 Al-Muti 946 974 At-Ta'i 974 991 Al-Qadir 991 1031 Al-Qa'im 10311075 Al-Muqtadi 10751094 Al-Mustazhir 10941118 Al-Mustarshid 11181135

Ar-Rashid 11351136 Al-Muqtafi 11361160 Al-Mustanjid 11601170 Al-Mustadi 11701180 An-Nasir 11801225 Az-Zahir 12251226 Al-Mustansir 12261242 Al-Musta'sim 12421258

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Abbasid Caliphate: Introduction

Overthrowing the Umayyad caliphs from all but the Al Andalus region

The Abbasid caliphate was founded in Harran in 750 CE and shifted its capital in 762 to Baghdad It flourished for two centuries, but slowly went into decline with the rise to power of the Turkish army it had created, the Mamluks
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 Within 150 years of gaining control of Persia, the caliphs were forced to cede power to local dynastic emirs who only nominally acknowledged their authority The caliphate also lost the Western provinces of Al Andalus, Maghreb and Ifriqiya to an Umayyad prince, the Aghlabids and the Fatimids, respectively The Abbasids' rule was briefly ended for three years in 1258, when Hulagu Khan, the Mongol khan, sacked Baghdad, resuming in Mamluk Egypt in 1261, from where they continued to claim authority in religious matters until 1519, when power was formally transferred to the Ottomans and the capital relocated to Constantinople

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Rise of Abbasid Caliphate

The Abbasid caliphs descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib They won the backing of Shiites against Umayyad rule

The Abbasids also distinguished themselves from the Umayyads by attacking their moral character and administration in general
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 According to Ira Lapidus, "The Abbasid revolt was supported largely by Arabs, mainly the aggrieved settlers of Marw with the addition of the Yemeni faction"
Mawali, who remained outside the kinship-based society of the Arabs and were perceived as a lower class within the Umayyad Empire supported Abbasides Muhammad ibn 'Ali, a great-grandson of Abbas, campaigned for the return of power to the Hashimites, in Persia during the reign of Umar II

During the reign of Marwan II, this opposition culminated in the rebellion of Ibrahim the Imam, the fourth in descent from Abbas. Supported by the province of Khorasan, Iran, he achieved considerable success, but was captured in the year 747 and died in prison; some hold that he was assassinated

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 Ibrahims brother Abdallah Abu al-'Abbas asSaffah, who defeated the Umayyads in 750 in the Battle of the Zab near the Great Zab and was subsequently proclaimed caliph
Barmakids, who were instrumental in building Baghdad introduced the world's first recorded paper mill in Baghdad, thus beginning a new era of intellectual rebirth in the Abbasid domain
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Abbasids in Power
The first change of capital from Damascus, in Syria, to Baghdad in Iraq. This was to both appease and to be closer to the Persian mawali support base Baghdad was established on the Tigris River in 762 A new position, that of the vizier, was also established to delegate central authority, and even greater authority was delegated to local emirs. Eventually, this meant that many Abbasid caliphs were relegated to a more ceremonial role than under the Umayyads, as the viziers began to exert greater influence, and the role of the old Arab aristocracy was slowly replaced by a Persian bureaucracy

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Golden Age
"In virtually every field of endeavor -in astronomy, alchemy, mathematics, medicine, optics and so forth- Arab scientists were in the forefront of scientific advance." The Islamic Golden Age was inaugurated by the middle of the 8th century by the ascension of the Abbasid Caliphate and the transfer of the capital from Damascus to Baghdad The Abbassids were influenced by the Qur'anic injunctions and hadith such as "the ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr" stressing the value of knowledge

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 During this period the Muslim world became an intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education as the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge and established the House of Wisdom in Baghdad; where both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars sought to translate and gather all the world's knowledge into Arabic Many classic works of antiquity that would otherwise have been lost were translated into Arabic and Persian and later in turn translated into Turkish, Hebrew and Latin

During this period the Muslim world was a cauldron of cultures which collected, synthesized and significantly advanced the knowledge gained from the ancient Roman, Chinese, Indian, Persian, Egyptian, North www.css.theazkp.com 13 African, Greek and Byzantine civilizations

CSS Questions on ABBASID DYNASTY

2011- Give an analytical study of the Muslims contribution in social science in the reign of Haroon and Mamun 2011- Briefly describe the scientific and literary progress of the Muslims during Abbasid period 2010 - Write essay on Any One of the following i- Baghdad under early Abbasids ii- Philosophical progress of the Muslims during the Abbasid period

2009- How did the Abbasid court patronize the philosophical, scientific and literary progress?
2008-Describe in detail the Revenue System of the Abbasid
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 2007- Write an essay on the scientific and literary progress of the Muslims during the Abbasid period.

2006- Highlight the contribution of the Abbasids towards education, peoples welfare and culture. 2005- Abbasid period was the golden period for the progress of different sciences and arts. Discuss
2004- Write a detailed note on the agricultural
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 1991- Write a detailed administration of Abbasids

note

on

the

1989- Development of Schools of Fiqh during Abbasid period

1985- What were the sources of revenue during Abbasid period?

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As-Saffah
Reign 750 754 Predecessor Marwan II of Umayyads
Successor Al-Mansur

As-Saffah literally means The Shedder of Blood was the first Abbasid caliph (750 - 754)
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 After eliminating the Umayyad family after victory at the Battle of the Zab, Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah sent his forces to Central Asia, Sindh, Arabia, Anatolia, Egypt and North Africa; his forces confronted many regional powers and consolidated the realm of the Abbasid Caliphate
Concerned that there would be a return of Umayyad power, as-Saffah invited all of the remaining members of the Umayyad family to a dinner party where he had them clubbed to death before the first course, which was then served to the hosts. For his ruthless efforts to eliminate the Umayyad family, Abu al-`Abbas `Abdullah gained the epithet alSaffah, which meanswww.css.theazkp.com 'the slaughterer' or 'shedder of 18 blood'

Abu al-`Abbas's short reign was marked with efforts to consolidate and rebuild the Caliphate as-Saffah is widely viewed by historians as having been a mild victor Jews, Nestorian Christians, and Persians were well-represented in Abu al`Abbas's government and in succeeding Abbasid administrations Education was also encouraged, and the first paper mills, staffed by skilled Chinese prisoners captured at the Battle of Talas, were set up in Samarkand

Equally revolutionary was Abu al-`Abbas's reform of the army, which came to include non-Muslims and non-Arabs in sharp contrast to the Umayyads who refused any soldiers of either type
As-Saffah selected the gifted Abu Muslim as his military commander, an officer who would serve until 755 in the Abbasid army
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 As-Saffah turned back on his promises to the Shi'a community in claiming the Caliphate for himself. The Shi'a had hoped that their imam would be named head of the Caliphate, inaugurating the era of peace and prosperity the millennialists had believed would come. The betrayal alienated Abu al-`Abbas's Shi'a supporters, although the continued amity of other groups made Abbasid rule markedly more solvent than Umayyad Abu al-`Abbas `Abdullah as-Saffah died of smallpox on June 10, 754, only four years after deposing the Umayyads. He appointed his brother Abu Ja'far al-Mansur and then Isa ibn
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Al-Mansur
The second Abbasid Caliph (136-158 AH/754 AD-775 AD)
Reign 754 - 775

Predecessor As-Saffah Successor Al-Mahdi

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 Al-Mansur in 762 founded as new imperial residence and palace city Madinat as-Salam, which became the core of the Imperial capital Baghdad He was concerned with the solidity of his regime after the death of his brother, Abu'l `Abbas In 755 he arranged the assassination of Abu Muslim to preclude a power struggle in the empire. Abu Muslim was a loyal freed man from the eastern Iranian province of Khorasan who had led the Abbasid forces to victory over the Umayyads during the Third Islamic Civil War in
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 He deposed Isa bin Musa bin Muhammad bin Ali as his successor due to suspect of corruption and in his place appointed al-Mahdi as his successor and took public allegiance for him

Like his elder brother Saffah he wanted to unite the land so he get rid of all of his opposition
During his reign, literature and scholarly work in the Islamic world began to emerge in full force, supported by new Abbasid tolerances for Persians and other groups suppressed by the Umayyads In al-Mansur's reign Persian literature and scholarship was truly appreciated in the Islamic world. The emergence of Shu'ubiya among Persian scholars occurred during the reign of al-Mansur as a result of loosened censorship over Persian nationalism. Shu'ubiya was a literary movement among Persians expressing their belief that Persian art and culture was superior to that of the Arabs; the movement served to catalyze the emergence of Arab-Persian dialogues in the eighth century
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 The inclusiveness of the Abbasid regime, and that of al-Mansur, saw the expansion of Islam among its territory; in 750, roughly 8% of residents in the Caliphate were Muslims. This would double to 15% by the end of al-Mansur's reign

Al-Mansur died in 775 on his way to Mecca to make hajj. He was buried somewhere along the way in one of the hundreds of graves that had been dug in order to hide his body from the Umayyads He was succeeded by his son, al-Mahdi
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 Treacherous and cruel man, Muir Mixture of opposites

A despotic monarch
Sense of justice Nicknamed as Abud Dawanink -the father of paisas Ibn al-Athir writes on al-Mansurs daily routine al-Mansur is placed in Islamic history as the real
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 Established firm and strong administration (hereditary hierarchy of the Abbaside bureaucracy)
Re-unified Muslim empire from Khurasan to Qayrowan

Laid claim to Spain on spiritual grounds

Devoted to Persian learning

Model for later caliphs

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Hrn al-Rashd
Predecessor Al-Hadi

Successor Al-Amin
Haroun the Upright, Haroun the Just, or Haroun the Rightly Guided was the fifth Abbasid Caliph in Iraq

He ruled from 786 to 809, and his time was marked by scientific, cultural and religious prosperity. Art and music also flourished
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The Abbasid Caliphate 750-1258 Capital: Baghdad

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/abba/hg_d_abba_d1map.jpg

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 Harun was intellectually, politically and militarily resourceful, his life and the court have been the subject of many tales: some are factual but most are believed to be fictitious

Among what is known to be fictional is The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, which contains many stories that are fantasized by Harun's magnificent court and even Harun al-Rashid himself The family of Barmakids which played a deciding role in establishing the Abbasid Caliphate
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 His vizier (chief minister) Yahya the Barmakid, Yahya's sons especially Ja'far ibn Yahya, and other Barmakids generally controlled the administration The Barmakids were a Persian-Tajik family which dated back to the Barmak of Magi, who had become very powerful under al-Mahdi. Yahya had aided Hrn in obtaining the caliphate, and he and his sons were in high favor until 798, when the caliph threw them in prison and confiscated their land. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari lists various accounts for the cause: Yahya's entering the Caliph's presence without permission, Yahya's opposition to Muhammad ibn al Layth who later gained Harun's favour, Jafar's release of Yahya ibn Abdallah ibn Hasan whom Harun had imprisoned, the ostentatious wealth of the Barmakids and the alleged 30 romantic relationship www.css.theazkp.com between Yahya's son and Harun's

 This romantic story is highly doubted by Ibn Khaldun and most modern scholars
The fall of the Barmakids is far more likely due to their behaving in a manner that Harun found disrespectful (such as entering his court unannounced) and making decisions in matters of state without first consulting him.
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 It was under Hrn ar-Rashd that Baghdad flourished into the most splendid city of its period. Tribute was paid by many rulers to the caliph, and these funds were used on architecture, the arts and a luxurious life at court In 796, Hrn decided to move his court and the government to Ar Raqqah at the middle Euphrates
Close to the Byzantine border The communication lines via the Euphrates to Baghdad and via the Balikh river to the north and via Palmyra to Damascus were excellent The agriculture was flourishing to support the new Imperial center And from Raqqa any rebellion in Syria and the middle www.css.theazkp.com 32 Euphrates area could be controlled

 Due to the Thousand-and-One Nights tales, Harun alRashid turned into a legendary figure obscuring his true historic personality In fact, his reign initiated the political disintegration of the Abbasid caliphate.[Syria was inhabited by tribes with Umayyad sympathies and remained the bitter enemy of the Abbasids while Egypt witnessed uprisings against Abbasids due to maladministration and arbitrary taxation. The Umayyads had been established in Spain in 755, the Idrisids in Morocco in 788, and the Aghlabids in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia) in 800. Besides, unrest flared up in Yemen, and the Kharijites rose in rebellion in Daylam, Kerman, Fars and Sistan. Revolts also broke out in Khorasan, and al-Rashid waged many campaigns against the Byzantines www.css.theazkp.com 33

 Al-Rashid virtually dismembered the empire by apportioning it between his two sons alAmin and al-Ma'mun. Very soon it became clear that by dividing the empire, Rashid had actually helped to set the opposing parties against one another, and had provided them with sufficient resources to become independent of each other.
After the death of Harun al-Rashid, civil war broke out in the empire between his two sons,
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 Harun's and Charlemagne's courts held amicable discussions concerning Christian access to the Holy Land and the exchange of gifts.Charlemagne sent Harun Spanish horses, colourful Frisian cloaks and impressive hunting dogs. Harun sent Charlemagne a present consisting of silks, brass candelabra, perfume, balsam, ivory chessmen, a colossal tent with many-colored curtains, an elephant named Abul-Abbas, and a water clock that marked the hours by dropping bronze balls into a bowl, as mechanical knightsone for each houremerged from little doors which shut behind them. The presents were unprecedented in Western Europe . When the Byzantine empress Irene was deposed, Nikephoros I became emperor and refused to pay tribute to Harun, saying that Irene should have been receiving the tribute the whole time. News of this angered Harun, who wrote a message on the back of the Roman emperor's letter and said "In the name of God the most merciful, From Amir al-Mu'minin Harun al-Rashid, commander of the faithful, to Nicephoros, dog of the Romans. Thou shalt not hear, thou shalt behold my reply". After campaigns in Asia Minor, Nicephoros was forced to conclude a treaty, with humiliating terms
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 Saadi of Shiraz inserted a number of them into his Gulistan, in one telling how Harun enjoined his son to forgiveness There is also the tale of Harun asking Ishaq ibn Ibrahim to keep singing. The musician did until the caliph fell asleep. Then, strangely, a handsome young man appeared, snatched the musician's lute, sang a very moving piece (al-Masudi quotes it), and left. On awakening and being informed of this, Harun said Ishaq ibn Ibrahim had received a supernatural visitation

Harun, like a number of caliphs, is given an anecdote connecting a poem with his death. Shortly before he died, he is said to have been reading some lines by Abu al-Atahiya about the transitory nature of the power www.css.theazkp.com 36 and pleasures of this world

 Harun, though called Rashid, was as prone to vindictive cruelty,if moved to hate of jealousy, as any of his predecessors, writes Muir Harun followed in the footsteps of his grandfather ,Mansur except in parsimony for no caliph exceeds him in liberality, writes Ibn Khaldun

Weigh him as carefully as you like in the scale of historical criticism, Harun ar-Rasheed will always take rank with the greatest sovereigns and rulers of the world,writes Ameer Ali
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 History and legend writes Hitti unite in placing the most brilliant period of Baghdad during the caliphate of Harun ar-Rasheed (786-809) Baghdad turned into city of palaces and offices He was the first to elevate music into a noble profession, establishing degrees and honours, as in science and literature, writes Ameer Ali Asmai the Grammarian, Ibrahim Mosuli the Musician ,poet Abu Nuwas the boon companion
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Al-Ma'mun
Abbasid caliph who reigned from 813 until his death in 833
Reign 813 - 833

Predecessor his brother Al-Amin Successor Al-Mu'tasim

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Abbasid Civil War In 802 Harun al-Rashid ordered that al-Amin succeed him, and al-Ma'mun serve as governor of Khurasan and as caliph after the death of al-Amin. Al-Ma'mun was reportedly the older of the two brothers, but his mother was a Persian woman while al-Amin's mother was a member of the reigning Abbasid family. After alRashid's death in 809, the relationship between the two brothers deteriorated. In response to al-Ma'mun's moves toward independence, al-Amin declared his own son Musa to be his heir. This violation of alRashid's testament led to a civil war in which alMa'mun's newly recruited Khurasani troops, led by Tahir bin Husain (d. 822), defeated al-Amin's armies and laid siege to Baghdad. In 813, al-Amin was beheaded, and al-Ma'mun as caliph www.css.theazkp.com recognized 40

 Mamun cannot be acquitted of acts of capricious violence, some of which are just as cruel as those which stain the memory of his predecessors. Murders of Fazl bin sahl, Imam Ali Raza, Tahir et al, writes Muir

Mamun was the most distinguished for his prudence, determination , clemency , judgment, sagacity ,awe-inspiring aspect ,intrepidity ,majesty and liberality of the house of Abbas none is wiser than he ever ruled the caliphate, writes Ameer Ali
Mamuns age ushered in the palmy days of
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 Mamuns mother, his tutor Jafar Barmaki, vizir Fazl bin sahl and wife Buran bint Hassan bin Sahl were all Persians Persian ascendency implied three things intellectual rationalism, religious heterodoxy and political absolutism Era of Mamun, Mutasim and wathiq aptly remarked as the age of Islamic rationalism reflecting in all walks of life. They helped in the growth and development of the saracenic nation, writes Ameer Ali

Tuesdays were reserved for literary philosophical and scientific discussions. Liberal and free-thinking doctrines of Mutazillites in 828 AD gained ground
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 Foundation of Bayt-al-Hikmah in 830 in Baghdad. Hunayn bin Ishaq supervised the translation work

First observatory was established by Mamun at shammasia on the plain of Tadmor

European asserted then that earth was flat Abul Hassan invented telescope Mamun left enduring monument to the intellectual development of the Muslim in all directions of thought,says Ameer Ali Mamuns reign described as the most glorious epoch in saracenic history,and the Augustan Age of Islam

We see for the first time, perhaps in the history of the world, a religious and despotic government allied to philosophy, preparing www.css.theazkp.com 43 and partaking in its triumphs, writes Oelfier

Administration under Abbasides

The caliph-the vizir-Hajib-the public executioner Central deptts:
Diwan al-Aziz or the August Board under Grand vizir
Diwan al-Rasail or the chancery office

Diwan -ul-Barid
Diwan-al-khatim under the umayyads changed into www.css.theazkp.com Diwan ul-Tawqi or the Board of Requests

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 Diwan-al-Azimah or the Audit and Account office Diwan ad-diya and Diwan as-sawafi for royal lands

Diwan an-nafaqat for royal family and courtiers Diwan as-sirr or the secrecy office
Diwan al-Arz for inspection of military equipment Department of police or shurta The muhtasib or public censor
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Sources of Revenue
Zakat (poor-Tax)
Jizya (Poll-tax)

Kharaj (land tax)

Khums (one-fifth) Usher(one-tenth)
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 Salt and fishery taxes

Trade taxes on shopkeepers Tax on mines and pastures

Tax on mills and factories

Tax on conveyances and luxuries Tolls and imposts on borders

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Scientific Progress and Literary Progress

Medicine: Al-Tabari, al-Razi,Ibn Sina Philosophy:al-Kindi,al-Farabi,Ikhwan as-Saffa Astronomy & Maths: umar al-Khayam
Alchemy: Jabir bin Hayyan Geography Historiography: al-Tabari,al-Masudi Theology: Books on Hadith, jurisprudence Ethics, literature, Arabian Nights,poetry www.css.theazkp.com
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The development of fine Arts

Architecture
Painting

Calligraphy Music
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Petty dynasties

The Idrisids, The Aghlabids, The Tulunids and Hamdanis in the West

The Tahirids, The Saffarids, The Samanids, Ghaznavids, The Buwayhids, The Saljuqs in the East
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Downfall of the Abbasids in 1258

The Mongols sack Baghdad Death of the Abbasid Caliph Mustasim

End of the Abbasid rule. Fall of Baghdad, end of the Abbasid caliphate The Mongol II-Khans under Halaku establish their rule in Iran and Iraq with the capital at Maragah.
Berek Khan the Muslim chief of the Golden Horde protests against the treatment meted out to the Abbasid Caliph and withdraw his Contingent from
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Downfall of the Abbasids: Causes

Negligence of state affairs and moral degradation of the later caliphs

Utter lack of political leadership

Supremacy of the Turks and rise of the independent states No respect for law Military power neglected by the later caliphs Degenerative family and slave system Absence of relation between provincial and central governments Islamic polity became stationary and despotic Racial enmity

Dominance of obscurantist and anti-rationalist ulema

Economic factors Intellectual decay
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?
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